leica

In October 2018, I was invited to test drive the Huawei P20 Pro smartphone with the Huawei UK team and a host of Instagrammers, YouTubers, model – Jasmin Brunner (@jazbrunner) and Photography Mastercraftsman, Alex Lambrechts (@alex_lambrechts). The trip commenced at Leica HQ in Wetzlar, Frankfurt and continued to Naples, Italy. We explored quaint towns on foot, … Read moreMobile Photo Story – Italian Press Trip with Huawei P20 Pro Smartphone

Many of our readers will be aware that last week I was whisked away to the comfort of Leica HQ, Wetzlar, Germany, by telecom brand, Huawei. Lens and camera manufacturer Leica, originally announced in late 2016 their joint research and development centre with Huawei; working on optical and software systems. Now, this all takes place in the The Max Berek Innovation Lab. The Huawei P20 Pro that I was presented with has three cameras within this device and are co-engineered between Huawei and Leica. A spokesman for Huwawei explained “There has been significant technological collaboration between Huawei and Leica around many aspects of the camera, including optical design, imaging quality, image data processing, optimisation, and the mechanical construction of the camera module to the graphic user interface. The devices meet Leica’s highest imaging quality standards.”

The Lab’s establishment is the result of the vision and support of Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, majority shareholder and chairman of the advisory board of Leica Camera AG, and Ren Zhengfei, founder of HUAWEI.

“With the founding of the Max Berek Innovation Lab, HUAWEI and Leica Camera AG are expanding the scope of their successful strategic relationship and are laying the foundation for close collaboration in research and development of ground-breaking technologies in the imaging segment,” emphasised Dr. Andreas Kaufmann.

“In the future, over 90 per cent of the data traffic will be images and videos,” said Ren Zhengfei, founder of HUAWEI. “The Max Berek Innovation Lab provides the capacity to establish an even closer partnership with Leica, leading to continuous improvements in image and video quality. As a result, we will deliver the most advanced innovations in the smartphone camera market and bring greater value to consumers.”

“HUAWEI and Leica share not only enormous innovation power and years of research experience, but also their dedication to providing the highest quality standards. The Max Berek Innovation Lab offers us a historic opportunity to unite the resources and extensive expertise of both companies to pioneer game-changing technologies,” confirmed Markus Limberger, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Leica Camera AG and director of the Max Berek Innovation Lab.

The R&D centre is named in memory of Max Berek (1886 – 1949), the German pioneer of microscopy and creator of the first Leica lenses. Berek was also responsible for the optical design of more than 20 lenses for the legendary 35mm camera, invented and built by Oskar Barnack. Thanks to the exceptional imaging performance and perfect harmonisation of the lenses, coupled with Barnack’s ingenious construction, Leica achieved worldwide success in 35mm photography.

We curate mobile videography, photography and art apps here at TheAppWhisperer as we do images, only highlighting ones that are worthy of your time and experience and will allow you to work at a more rewarding level.

Today, our App of the Day is the newly redesigned Leica FOTOS app. Compatible with any Wi-Fi enabled Leica camera, the new app delivers features that enable photographers to capture images remotely, transfer, edit and share images quickly, easily, and on-the-go. It’s easy to connect to the new app to transfer RAW photos to your phone; see every detail and check exposure through immersive viewing; remotely control your camera to capture the most fleeting of moments; effortlessly access and manage your deepest camera settings; perfect raw photos to share on social media.

This new and improved app dedicates a separate space for your special photos – so they are not mixed with the rest – creating your own Leica Gallery, right in the palm of your hands.

Last night I was entertained with all my favourite things, smartphone photography, photographers, artists, galleries of art, fine food and not least, plentiful champagne. I was invited to an exclusive event showcasing images of the Reveal the Real You winners in association with Dazed magazine (founded by Rankin and Jefferson Hack), Huawei and Leica.

The event was organised by a wonderful team, many of whom I have known from many years ago, when I was editing print photography titles, it was so good to catch up and also to meet new friends.

I interviewed the photographers, Anthony Shintai Amao, Sahvannah Amaka and Kat Collings, who each won a £10k bursary to donate to community causes that inspired them within London.

We were further entertained with live performances from Break Mission, Shoreditch Youth Dance, London Jazz Ensemble and a DJ set from Rines FM’s Emerald Rose Lewis as well as Radio 1.

This gallery is now open to the public (from today) until Sunday 11 March – if you’re in the area, I urge you to go and visit. The address is: Top Office Machines, 133-135 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2 7DG. You will be able to view all the imagery gracing the walls from the above photographers.

This Saturday 10 March between 12 noon and 5 pm, the gallery will also be running a portrait photography studio in collaboration with The Photocopy Club. Visitors to the gallery will be invited to have their portrait taken on a Huawei P10 in the studio, which will then be printed out and added to a wall in the gallery as part of a growing art exhibition. Each participant will get their own black & white Xerox portrait to take away with them, and at the end of the day all the portraits will be made in to a zine.

Today in Munich, Huawei announced the HUAWEI Mate 10 Series, introducing the world to its new range of AI-enabled smartphones. The HUAWEI Mate 10, HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro and PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 10 are breakthrough AI devices that combine innovative hardware, the Kirin 970 chipset and EMUI 8.0. Building on the success of its … Read moreHuawei Unveils the HUAWEI Mate 10 and HUAWEI Mate 10 Pro

Global smartphone manufacturer, Huawei, and youth culture magazine, Dazed, are issuing a final call for creatives to enter their ‘Reveal the Real You’ initiative. Due to high demand, entries to the community-led photo project have been extended to October 1st 2017 and will see three collaborators awarded a £10,000 bursary to donate to the community cause of their choice. The project is the latest partnership from Huawei that aims to inspire people to use their smartphone as a tool of self-expression.

The campaign officially launched at the Peckhamplex cinema on 4th September 2017 with a large-scale street exhibition featuring images shot by emerging photography talent and Peckham local, Campbell Addy. Addy used the project as an opportunity to shine a light on social diversity within the local creative community and showcased ten images including a portrait of King Owusu who featured in the historic all-black Pirelli 2017 calendar.

Commenting on his work, Addy said: “I want to shine a light on the artists of South London, breaking down the expected view of artists as the privileged middle class. I am championing the people of Peckham who are ‘doing the most with the least”.

Addy’s images were shot on the Huawei P10 and serve as a call to action – inspiring other young people to pick up a camera and document the causes and community that have had an impact on their lives. People interested in entering simply need to share a few sentences on their chosen community and 3 – 5 relevant images from their photography portfolio and as Reveal the Real You gathers momentum it will culminate in a shortlist of twenty photographers being given Huawei P10 smartphones to document their stories. A panel of expert, independent judges will then award three winners £10,000 each to donate to the charity of their choice as well as being an exhibition of their winning imagery to raise the profile of their cause further.

Evidenced by its partnership with Leica, the camera brand that democratised photography by taking cameras out of the studio and onto the streets, Huawei believes in photography as the medium through which anyone can share their stories and opinions thanks to its smartphones. ‘Reveal the Real You’, harnesses the power of mobile phone photography, making it possible for anyone to shine a spotlight on communities, causes and ideologies that they feel passionately about.

Andrew Garrihy; Huawei Europe, CMO said: “The photography capabilities on our phones allow anyone to take thought provoking images. Putting that power in people’s hands, has given everyone a platform to tell their story and help others understand more about their passions and beliefs through images. Reveal the Real You is simply an extension of what people do every day. We want to give inspired, committed people the opportunity to make a difference in their local community; give them a platform to get their voice heard and make things they never thought possible happen.”

Reveal the Real You is one element of a wider partnership Huawei has formed with Dazed, which will see Huawei smartphones act as the lens that shine a light on a variety of causes, creations and conversations that were previously hidden or hard to reach.

Leica are hosting a Modern Portraiture Photography Competition staring today and ending on 11 April 2017. All you need to do to enter is upload your best portraits to the Leica FotoPark ‘Modern Portraiture’ category and they have three HUAWEI P10’s to present as prizes. The HUAWEI P10 features a new Leica Dual Camera 2.0 which uses precise 3D facial detection, dynamic illumination, and natural portrait enhancements to produce stunning artistic portrait shots in Leica image style.

News just in from my friends and colleagues at Leica (not mobile but very interesting), Leica Camera AG, has announced that it is to become Sky Arts’ exclusive technical provider for ‘Master of Photography’, the first TV talent show dedicated to photography.

Scheduled to be broadcast from 21 July in the UK and Ireland on Sky Arts, in Italy on Sky Arte HD, and in Germany and Austria on Sky Arts HD, Master of Photography is a new, unique international production that aims to promote photography in all its forms of expression.

Hosted by Isabella Rossellini, the programme will involve 12 young talents – either amateur or pro photographers – from all over Europe. During the eight episodes in the series, competitors will face challenges both in the studio and outdoors, touring several European locations from Rome to Ireland and London to Berlin. A jury comprising three globally-renowned photographers and experts, Oliviero Toscani, Simon Frederick and Rut Blees Luxemburg, will select the first Master of Photography, with the winner receiving a prize of 150,000 euros plus the opportunity to host their first solo exhibition, with publication of a dedicated catalogue.

Each participant will be equipped with professional Leica products including cameras, lenses and accessories. With products from Leica’s current S, SL, and M-System ranges plus the Leica Q – the company’s full-frame compact camera – the contestants will be perfectly prepared for any photographic challenge that comes their way.

For further information about the TV series and competition, please go here.

London – Today at an exclusive launch event at London’s Battersea Evolution, Huawei Consumer Business Group unveiled the much anticipated Huawei P9 and P9 Plus. Created in collaboration with Leica, the dual-lens P9 sets a new standard in smartphone photography. The Huawei P9 is the first smartphone co-engineered with the global iconic brand, Leica Camera AG. The P9’s dual-lens camera takes smartphone photography to the next level, allowing people to capture both vivid colors and striking black and white images. Huawei’s new B3 Talkband wearable wristband also made its global debut.

A groundbreaking moment for event guests included a first look at an exclusive trailer of the new Huawei P9 TV commercial starring Henry Cavill and Scarlett Johansson, Global Product Ambassadors for the Huawei P9 series. Showcasing the connection between two global stars in Shanghai and Hollywood, the trailer symbolizes the partnership between Huawei and Leica and the intersection of color and black and white. Cavill was joined at the P9 launch by iconic photographers Mary McCartney (whom I first met many years ago when at I worked at a paparazzi press agency in London) and David Guttenfelder from National Geographic as well as BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan, Condé Nast Chairman and Chief Executive Jonathan Newhouse, Vogue China Publisher Anita Chang and Huawei UK Board Members Sir Andrew Cahn and Dame Helen Alexander.

“Huawei is excited to give P9 users the best smartphone photography experience by leveraging the unrivalled capabilities of Leica, the leader in the world of imaging for more than 100 years,” said Richard Yu, CEO, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “Consumers around the world use their smartphones to take billions of pictures each year, making photography critical to user experience. P9 users can now capture images with unmatched clarity, richness and authenticity, with a masterfully designed and powerful smartphone that looks and feels incredible.”